New MailChimp Logo By Jon Hicks

This post has absolutely nothing to do with email marketing. But if you’re interested in graphic design and branding, you might enjoy.

I’ve been wanting to redesign the MailChimp logo since—well, since I first designed it in 2001. I kinda hacked the logo together really fast in Fireworks (which is just not meant for high-res print). I think it went something like this. Mark, my co-founder, said: "Yo Ben, MailChimp’s live now. Um, I think it could use a logo." Me: "Oh crap. Here, I’ve already got a monkey file open (don’t ask) so I’ll put a hat on him and send it over."

Anyway, our beloved mascot has gone through a bunch of iterations over the years, each one slightly less clumsy than the preceding version, but I’ve never been happy with it.

Until now. That’s because this time, we went out and hired an expert.

Jon Hicks, who is probably most famous for his work on the Firefox logo (check out this interview over at Floating Frog), and most recently the SilverBack App logo, has given us an awesome new MailChimp mascot.

We’re currently working on a fresh new MailChimp website where you’ll see lots of the new branding. But for now, I thought I’d provide a sneak-peek.

Follow the link below to see Jon’s final work, and what led us to the new design.

Like I said, I’d been wanting a new MailChimp logo since 2001. I just hated my original design so much. It was a very sloppy rush job, so the way it was constructed in Fireworks was crap. Scaling it and making high-res versions for print never worked. Any time we wanted to create a banner ad or poster (such as to sponsor an event) I had to re-work the stupid source file. It needed a complete overhaul.

But we never had time. So 7 years went by with the current logo.

Actually, he had a slight nose job around 2005. He went from a 2-dot-nostril design:

to a more modern:

I skipped a couple iterations in between there, but the differences are minor and irrelevant. I mainly changed the nose because whenever I scaled that horrible, horrible Fireworks file, the 2-dot nostrils would often overlap each other, or spread way apart. Also, if I scaled the logo really big, the hat would come apart. You’d literally see a big giant gap between the brim and the gold badge. Like I said, Fireworks is great for web design, but not-so-great for print.

But we limped along with this design for a long time. Then, as our business grew, and our audience spread out from the "Web designers and creative professionals" niche to a more broad "mainstream" audience, we started to get complaints that our chimp was a little "unprofessional." This was around 2006.

The comments about MailChimp being "unprofessional" did not bug me one bit. However, I consider myself a scientist, so I love experiments. I’ll try anything just to see what it does for our business.

That’s when we had the idea to remove the monkey altogether, and change our website to look more "corporate and stodgy."

I replaced the MailChimp logo in our header with this:

In fact, while working on the stodgy new design, I kinda went overboard and started to have some fun with it. I even posted a cheap piece of stock art on the home page, with the headline, "Email a constant headache?" (a little humor directed at a certain competitor of ours):

I’ll never forget how difficult it was for our copywriter to grasp the concept of "okay, we’re gonna take away all the chimpy humor and go corporate." But we got it live.

Turns out after launching that new website design, our business grew faster than it ever had before. We got huge spikes in signups.

Now, a lot of other stuff happened at the same time (like hiring extremely smart and capable people), but we definitely saw an instant surge in new free trials.

I immediately got some hate mail for removing the chimp (my all time fav: When “enterprise” thinking crushes good design), but I also got some praise. Turns out lots of designers and agencies were hesitant about showing MailChimp to their larger clients. After removing the monkey mascot, we apparently looked "less risky" and the could finally switch over their larger accounts.

FWIW, I was never really 100% positive that removing the monkey is what helped. Perhaps it was removing the overall "cartoony" feel of the site that did it. Needed more testing (there’s that "scientist" side of me again).

And when you’re doing awesome stuff you can be bold with your branding, and have some personality.

So I thought it was time to revisit the logo.

In my mind, I always thought the perfect example of "Fun, simple, and crazy-powerful" is the Nintendo Wii. It’s a clean design, it’s simple, it’s affordable, and it’s all about the fun. It’s not bloated with 50 graphics cards, and it’s not going to render GT5 Prologue in HD (race fans need to check out that link, btw), but the wii is fun as heck. And adults like it, too.

You can say the same for MailChimp. We’re not bloated with a ton of features you’ll never use. We’re easy to use, but we’ve got some serious firepower behind us (which is why companies like these use MailChimp).

The Nintendo website is a perfect representation of that concept. Clean, lots of white space, and a little slice of fun here and there:

It has cartoons, but it’s not "cartoony."

They’ve got the right idea.

Anyway, I put together this mockup, and hung it in my office:

It’s the perfect example of how I wanted MailChimp to transform from its old 2-D look to a more modern 3 dimensional character.

Maybe it was the problem of, "How can we possibly modernize this old white dude from the south who kills chickens for a living?"

Maybe I was just hungry.

Anyway, I’ve got that picture of Mario on my wall.

And I can’t stop doodling MailChimp, in 3/4 view (instead of the flat, 2D view):

(I do all my design on sticky notes.)

So this is where it stayed for a good 6 months. On my office wall. Everybody that came into my office would say, "So when are we getting that new MailChimp logo?" or "When are we adding some chimpiness back to the site?"

6 months pass, Jon is finally available, and I show him the Mario diagram. I also show him my sticky note doodle, and I ask him if he can "do what Nintendo did for Mario, except we want the style and detail from the Firefox logo you did, but modernize the chimp a little so it doesn’t look like we’re trying to stay within the 16-bit websafe color palette or something."

If that were a mathematical equation, it would look something like this:

Except that pi has nothing to do with anything. I just like chicken pot pie.

So Jon politely tells me, "I don’t see anything wrong with your MailChimp." Then I give him an explanation twice as long and confusing as this blog post, and then he agrees to take the project.

So Jon works for a few weeks on and off, and sends us cool doodles from his sketchpad, like:

and like:

It was really fun whenever a new email from Jon arrived in my inbox, because it meant another cool monkey doodle.

Finally, Jon sends us the new MailChimp:

We absolutely love it. And we can’t wait to get the chimp back on our website, and also worked into the MailChimp app. Soon. We’re re-designing like crazy right now.

My favorite part of the new logo is the little hair detail inside his ear:

Yeah, I know it’s odd to focus on hairy little details like this, but I’m weird that way.

Anyway, hope you like the new MailChimp logo as much as we do. We’ll be launching a new public website some time in early October-ish, pretty close to the next new MailChimp point release (v3.3).

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The new chimp logo is terrific and Jon is definitely a modern reference in everything design and logos — hats off to him for all he is doing on the web.

Don’t, however, discount your original design! MailChimp became MailChimp not in spite of the original chimp, but because of it, “flaws” included. I’ve always had a very soft spot for your first logo, which to me remains unequaled in its simplicity and friendliness.

A good logo. but If there is one thing I love more than simple, yet powerfully effective web design, it would be candid discussion of the process of developing that design. And if you think you’re a dork for reading branding blogs, you should see how many typography blogs I read.

If there is one thing I love more than simple, yet powerfully effective web design, it would be candid discussion of the process of developing that design. And if you think you’re a dork for reading branding blogs, you should see how many typography blogs I read.

@FJ – Thanks! Come to think of it, 95% of my hatred for my old logo was simply because of how sloppy my .PNG file was. I made a few attempts at making an .AI version, but never could figure out gradients. Anyway, the actual design of the chimp was so-so for me.

As a “non-creative”, I appreciated the thought that went into the new chimp! In particular, the differences between 2D and 3D Mario. It would be easy to think that people are talented designers simply by nature, but it’s great to see the deliberation and intent behind it

i always loved the little chimpette – even more so when he started talking to me with the latest updates (have turned a few people to the service with that hysterical aspect alone!).

my only comment is that new chimp does not look at warm/nice/friendly as old chimp. its not overt, its just a slight edge…in an effort to make him look a bit enerst he also looks a little un-huggable. might be the eyes look a little “vacant”…like the chuckie doll.

dont want to over analyze but he seems a little less “human” – as ridiculous as that sounds!

Interesting stuff. I’m usually a big fan of Hicksdesign, but I’m actually with the previous poster – in this case I like your softer chimp better – he looks like he would be a better cuddly toy or emblazoned on a T-shirt (always think of the real-world merch!), and he also has a slightly more organic feel to him, which I like – Chimp3.0 is just a teeny bit too slick for me.
And OK, Chimp2.0 is just a talking head, but that way maybe the big corps won’t mind him too much?

This sounds a little bit crazy, but if you have smooth scrolling on in firefox, look at the pre and post-nose job MailChimps. Then scroll slowly up or down – it kinda looks like the MailChimp is talking. Not quite animation, but a nice waste of a couple of minutes while you create a MailChimp Shakespearean soliloquy.

Very interesting post, but I like the old logo much better. As a minority have indicated, it was friendlier, warmer. Your company is friendly and you make a lot of technical stuff simpler for me. The previous logo was a perfect expression of that.

But in my opinion this is not a logo! This is an illustration. I believe there is a huge difference between two. (The old chimp graphics was a logo mark.)

Right now, your new logo seems to be the orange MailChimp text (or maybe the letter M in the chimp illustration if it is executed into a logo mark or full text – but the orange text and letter M looks inconsistent at the moment).

It is also interesting that you first remove the chimp altogether to look ‘corporate’ (why not the brand name too?) then introduce it back with an ‘illustration’.

In the end what you have now, I believe, is a high quality chimp illustration which is obviously designed by a talented, professsional designer.

Seconded, Serdar. You went from having an unprofessional logo to having a professional 3D image that isn’t a logo.

You at least need to find a way to take ugly-3D monkey, and produce a decapitated head-only version for the dashboards. Then the comment about “oh wait I don’t have hands” would make more sense that it does now (where his hands are simply off-screen).

The way I like to think of the logo is “if society fell apart, and your logo rose to leadership over everyone, would your logo look good on the face of a coin?” Old logo – very nearly perfect! New… thing… Beautiful, but more of a “tails” image, if you know what I mean.

>>“Logos are set to become fluid, ever-changing, customisable, even personalised entities and Google is the first global brand that understands this,” says Mr Plimsoll, who is head of digital.

This is a little off-topic and more directed to Mr. Plimsoll but; Google has a ‘very’ traditional logotype since 1998. Where is the fluid, ever-changing… Google Logo? (I hope he is not referring to Google Holiday/Event Logos)

@Serdar – good point that Google’s logo has stayed “traditional” since 1998, and the holiday versions don’t count.

But maybe Plimsoll meant the “brand” or “personality” of Google, not so much the “G” logo. As you move around the different Google products (gmail, maps, search, mobile, iGoogle, etc) the interface changes. A lot. I notice, because I’m a stickler for consistent radii and padding. The logo changes too, sometimes.

In fact, the only thing that seems to stay consistent about Google’s “brand” is that they’re really not that concerned with strict brand consistency at all.

If your chimp branding is so prevalent off your homepage and once logged in, why do shy away from showcasing him on the homepage for new visitors? Is it still a fear that corporate clients might think its trite if they are recommended it from agencies?

Hi Paul – we’re just not finished re-designing the MailChimp site. We’ve been busy with the app. The new public site is totally redesigned, very chimpy, and it’s going to be hosted at mediatemple and using expressionengine. Hoping to launch it in the next couple weeks.

As a follow on to when you dropped the monkey, I understand completely how some people might be hesitant to show their clients a “monkey themed” site – some corporate clients are very sensitive about being and therefore using ‘professionals’ and it they are not tech savvy they are going to go by appearances.

On the other hand, Mailchimp’s site is much more of a pleasure to use than other services. As a techie, I appreciate good documentation that not only gives me the facts but may even offer me a chuckle now and then.

Personally I find a company having a sense of humor a statement of confidence – something like “We’re get customers with a great product, we like what we do and can have a little fun with it, we’re not just another mindless corporate drone service trying to win you with hollow sales pitches and stock photos of happy office people.”

reading this made my Sunday morning… as I was gonna suggest MailChimp to a friend, but first had to read the how-to. I saw the logo /branding part, just felt like a must read. Not only because of curiousity but also because I own a monkey. go figure :P
I love the whole design process of the logo. Also how the designer was honest enough to say that the concept was good enough. It just needed to be perfected. love the work Jon! and nice quick thinking Ben!

and after reading the following,>>“Steve Plimsoll, of brand consultancy FutureBrand, says the traditional rules on corporate identity are starting to look a little tired.

“Logos are set to become fluid, ever-changing, customisable, even personalised entities and Google is the first global brand that understands this,” says Mr Plimsoll, who is head of digital.

I wouldn’t call Google the first, but definitely the biggest.
>>I too say yes, google did place a nice big example early on

Although your article doesn’t have a lot to do with directly giving-out advice on “marketing,” it’s actually inspired me to take more risks with my own creativity, which I believe may help me generate more traffic.

Some people think, “you’re getting all the traffic you need buddy…,” but I really wanna go that extra mile and actually have them come dropping-by to my page just to check-out anyways.

The thing I really like about your designs is that it’s fun and relaxing to look at. It’s no wonder you guys are in the Top 5 in terms of providing e-mail marketing.

All of that combined with how simple it is to read through it and actually understand what you guys are talking about makes your site all the more reliable.

Keep-up the great work Ben and I’m looking forward to all of you guys’ updates.

Hey Ben, is it weird to post a comment on an article posted almost 4 years ago? I super like this honest post and hv a better understanding where does this monkey came from! Very surprised that yr take up rate surges after you turn ‘corporatey’! What made me fall in love with Mc apart from all the good stuff is the monkey and the fact that you guys talk in human language and not the corporate stuff…. That makes me think of my own site which is for the solopreneurs, sales agents & small business owners- would turning corporatey increase our conversion?? Should I do a ‘scientific’ research like you too? ;)

I visited your website and was greeted by a smiling chimp. Nice! I’m all for scientific testing to see what works. We still do it. 4 years have passed, and I have a different perspective on this now. I think if you “go all corporate” you may well attract more customers. I’ve learned, however, those customers might not be the ones you want. If you do testing, make sure you track the customers that you get from your “more corporate” look. See if they’re higher maintenance, less profitable, etc.

That is such an amazing logo. It really shows that a lot of time and effort was involved with this. The creativitiy just blew me away, and your math equations combining the logo idea was spot on. Looks exactly how it was supposed to. Awesome job!

What a great story, I found you through a mailing to help the Waterbury flood in Vermont. Involved with the Montpelier Senior Activity Center, your service fits in with their expansion program. Will let them know

Back when we built MailChimp, our competitors made some tasks really complicated and mundane. Like tracking links. You had to hand code all that yourself. Felt like stuff a hired chimp could do that sorta stuff (you have a business to run, after all). So we just made it a one-click button.

Hi there. I can see why this article is so popular: it’s informative and fun. Similar to your website and service ~ useful and fun! These days with so many online tools, it takes ages to learn them – so you can easily get uptight. But I found MailChimp not only easy to learn, but the chimp character and humour is really great. I actually had a few laughs while setting things up. At the same time, I notice you do provide the option to turn off the chimp fun side for clients. Well done on preserving to get exactly what you want. The logo encapsulates all of this. Great concept. Great logo.